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History in
a Pecan Shell
Baptist missionary
J. R. McCorkle founded the town as a church community in 1900. Originally
called Double Gates, it underwent a change of name when storekeeper
L. L. Shield named the community for himself. In 1940 there was a
store and a population of 125. By 1980 it was down to a mere thirteen
people which was the number given in 1990.
A letter from Mr. Grant Dierschke in August, 2004 states:
“I farm in Coleman
County. There is a large old school [in Shield] that is still
standing, maybe built around 1910. It has four brick chimneys with
a stucco exterior. I would estimate this structure as being 3,500
square feet. It is really something to see. The last inhabitant of
Shield moved out of town a few years ago. The school shows that there
was a thriving community here at one time." - Grant Dierschke |
Cactus and ruins
on private property
Click on image to enlarge
Photo Courtesy Dustin
Martin, May 2017 |
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Historical Marker:
On FM 2131, 17.5 miles S of Coleman
Shields Cemetery
The first community
in this vicinity began as a Baptist church settlement founded in 1900.
The vast ranch land of the area was divided into lots beginning about
1905. Early settlers called the community "Double Gates" because
there were two gates on the road between the nearby towns of Coleman
and Brady. A watering
hole near the road also attracted travelers.
L. L. Shield built a general store and post office, and the community
was named for him. The infant son of J. T. and L. A. (Dillingham)
Gilbreath died in June 1908 and became the first person to be interred
on land set aside for a Shield community cemetery. One acre of land
including the grave was donated to County Judge T. J. White, trustee,
in December of that year. The cemetery gradually took on the name
Shields. The earliest graves here are a testimony to the difficulty
of pioneer life: almost half the 37 people interred during the first
ten years of the cemetery's operation were children younger than three
years of age, two more were teenagers and four were under the age
of twenty-five. Only one person more than fifty years of age was buried
during this period: Susan Winkler McGinnis Godwin died in 1913 at
age eighty-two. Veterans of the Civil War, World
War I, World
War II, and the Korean War are interred here. Six graves in the
northwest corner of the cemetery are believed to be those of Catholic
Mexican Americans.
The Shield community thrived for a time, and many of its most influential
citizens are interred on this site. Though the community declined
after World War
II, Shields Cemetery remains as a chronicle of its people.
(1999)
Incising on base: In memory of Susan Winkler McGinnis Godwin |
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Abandoned house
in Shields
Photo Courtesy Dustin
Martin, May 2017 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
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